Beyond the Board: The Story Time Chess Blog

Chess at Three began over a decade ago in New York City with a revolutionary idea: teach chess to kids as young as three through imaginative storytelling instead of memorization. What started as a local tutoring service quickly grew into a nationally recognized program offering in-home chess lessons, school partnerships, online learning, and children’s chess clubs in NYC. Known for using characters like dancing knights and cookie-loving kings, our story-based method has helped over 50,000 children develop critical thinking, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning. As our board game Story Time Chess became a household name—available at Target, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble—we unified our tutoring and game brand under the same name to reflect our mission: making chess fun, accessible, and magical for kids everywhere.

Story Time Learning is excited to announce a new strategic partnership with PlayMonster, who will take over distribution and development of our TOTY award-winning educational games, Story Time Chess and Story Time Backgammon. This collaboration will help bring our story-based, screen-free learning games to even more families and educators across North America and beyond. It’s a big step toward our mission of making joyful learning accessible to kids everywhere.

Losing is tough—especially for kids who’ve given it their all—but a chess loss can be a golden opportunity for growth. Studies show that learning to handle failure builds emotional intelligence, boosts academic performance, and strengthens confidence. The key? Help your child reframe losses as learning moments. Celebrate smart moves (not just wins), talk through games over a snack, and model good sportsmanship in your own life. Keep things fun with playful challenges and remind them that even world champs like Magnus Carlsen lose. With your support, every loss becomes a lesson—and every lesson moves them closer to their next checkmate.

Summer is all about fun but that doesn’t mean learning has to take a backseat. Learning sticks best when kids don’t even realize they’re learning—through play, stories, and hands-on adventures. Whether it’s a strategy game like chess, storytelling that sparks curiosity, or turning everyday moments into exciting discoveries, there are endless ways to keep young minds engaged. At Story Time Chess we make learning feel like magic, and this summer we’re bringing that magic to you! From $15 trial lessons to Camp Chesslandia and lessons in the Hamptons, we’re here to keep the fun (and learning) going all summer long.

The holiday season is a whirlwind of excitement, especially when you have a toddler. What sounds like a magical time can quickly become a potential minefield of emotional explosions, sensory overload, and unexpected challenges. Toddlers experience the world intensely, and Christmas amplifies every sensory input. The holiday season brings a perfect storm of stimulation that can overwhelm even the most even-tempered tiny human. Use these tips to transform your holiday from stressful to memorable.

At Story Time Chess, we teach through stories, our students learn through play, and the focus is always on FUN! Why? For one, kids are far more likely to retain and practice new skills when they genuinely enjoy the activity in question. More crucially, playing together puts kids’ social-emotional development into overdrive, and studies show that strong social skills can have a profoundly positive impact on long-term academic success. As such, rebuilding our kids’ post-Covid social lives is more important than ever.

Happy New Year! It’s 2023, and we know many of you are already hard at work accomplishing your New Year’s resolutions.The tradition of starting the new year with self-improvement in mind dates back over 4000 years to ancient Babylon. Just like our forebears, we’re still resolving to behave better, achieve more, and stay mentally and physically healthy in the new year.

It was late December in Chesslandia and that meant King Chomper and Queen Bella’s gift-a-thon was coming soon! Every year, the king and queen would ride a rook around the kingdom, hand-delivering presents to one and all.“Are you ready to go?” Queen Bella asked as she finished loading up a rook with gifts for the kids of Chesslandia.

Nathaniel Basch-Gould

It was Halloween night in Chesslandia and Clip and Clop were getting ready to go trick-or-treating with the pawns! They put the finishing touches on their dinosaur costumes and galloped outside.“I hope we get treats!” Clip neighed. “Especially my favorite: candy corn!”“What if we get tricked?” Clop asked. “We’ve never done this before!”

Every day, the game of chess is played with gusto and brilliance by people all over the world, especially in Spanish-speaking countries and Hispanic communities here in the United States. Right now, millions of Americans are observing National Hispanic American Heritage Month, the thirty-day period from September 15th to October 15th that encompasses the independence days of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile.

In 2012, the United Nations dedicated October 11th as the International Day of the Girl to promote girls' empowerment and bring awareness to the human rights that still aren't granted to all girls everywhere.

Summer vacation was in full swing and, with the pawns on break from school, King Chomper, Queen Bella, King Shaky, and Queen Allegra decided to take their families down to the Endless Sea for a day at the beach!

Did you know that every piece on the chessboard has a point value?If you didn't, you're not alone. After all, you won't see a points tracker at most chess tournaments. But the point values assigned to each chess piece are incredibly instructive for beginners and experts alike.

It’s no secret—kids love to “play pretend.” In fact, education experts have known for decades that imaginative social play takes up 68-75% of kids’ after-school time, and that structured role-play has been proven to trigger the development of a wide range of cognitive and social skills.

Since the game of chess emerged in India some 1,500 years ago, it has always presented the possibility of an ideal level playing field: two sides of equal strength vie for control of sixty-four identical squares. But the road to equality and inclusion among its players has often proved difficult to navigate.

Whether you’re new to Story Time Chess’s innovative approach to early childhood chess or a longtime supporter of our story-based teaching style, you may be wondering: What exactly goes into my child’s chess lesson?

One of Chesslandia’s proudest traditions was playing practical jokes on April Fools’ Day. One year, Bea and Bop glued King Chomper’s chess pieces down; when he went to play his morning game they were all stuck to the board! Another time, the pawns switched places in the middle of the night; when the kings met on the lawn for a game the next morning, they had no clue who was who.

In early December of 2021, reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway faced off against his Russian challenger, Ian Nepomniachtchi (aka “Nepo”), in a three-week match that would determine the next World Chess Champion.

Chess is everywhere these days! Inspired by the hit Netflix series, The Queen's Gambit, and left with time on their hands from our year at home, many families look to chess to keep their kids and themselves entertained and stimulated! Did you know that by learning the game of chess, you are joining a 10,000-year-old club? Congratulations!

In many ways, the sixty-four squares of the chessboard represent the ultimate safe space. All are welcome within them regardless of the language they speak, the country they hail from, or even how long they’ve been playing the game.

For over a decade, Story Time Chess has been the trusted authority in early childhood chess. We’ve brought tens of thousands of students into the chess community since then, starting at the surprising age of three, and we’ve done it all through the power of storytelling.Simply put, parents love what we do and how we do it. Our tutors are creative, passionate educators who love children and take pride in making every lesson stimulating and fun. They are doggedly committed to their students’ development, not just as chess players but as people.

Story Time Chess exists to provide children with “ah-ha!” moments where they experience the wonder of discovering something new. Anytime we see a student grow through those “ah-ha!” moments it makes us incredibly proud!Seven-year-old Max discovered he loved his chess lessons so much that he makes the last move of each lesson extra slowly because he doesn't want it to end.

We all know how important it is to eat your veggies and break a sweat! But often, our mental fitness is left in the dust. Regular games of chess improve brain function, strengthen memory, and help players stay sharp! The mathematician Blaise Pascal famously said, "Chess is the gymnasium of the mind." We could not agree more!

Story Time Chess has revolutionized the way chess is taught by taking a very difficult game and making it accessible for anyone, even a child as young as three years old. And now, with over 10 years of experience providing fun, engaging, educational experiences, Story Time Chess is proud to partner with Roll for Adventure to launch a brand new game: Birchguard Quest.What is Birchguard Quest?

The world is opening up! With the return of schools, restaurants, entertainment, and extracurricular activities, life feels more normal and connected with each passing day. Masks are slowly coming off, and neighbors wave and smile, thankful to safely see each other's faces for the first time in months.

We know this year has been tough with a capital T! Trying to balance your child's safety with their mental and educational well-being is no small task and has led to some challenging moments over the last year and a half.The debate over staying home or letting your family socialize with friends is challenging and looks different for every family. Parents worldwide have struggled to make the right choices for their children amid this global pandemic, and we know the difficult decisions are far from over.

Oh, what a year this has been. As this month marks our city shutdown anniversary, we know many of you are stopping to reflect on your experience. Schools closed with little warning, work shut down, and New York City went from a bustling metropolis to a bit of a ghost town. Everyone was forced to pivot. Schools switched to digital learning, and we know many parents scrambled to solve childcare and remote learning dilemmas.

I have spent over 8,500 hours of my life teaching kids how to play chess!I started working for Story Time Chess in 2014 and quickly became New York City’s busiest chess tutor. I spend my after-school hours teaching mini chess players how to move the pieces and love the game!I have worked with small children in many capacities over the years, but this job feels different.

9 Ways That Story Time Chess's Tutors Fight Zoom Fatigue. We hope these tips and ideas help you and your child navigate the difficult times we’re all living through. We are so thankful for our incredibly gifted and creative teachers and their ability to keep Story Time Chess lessons feeling fresh and fun!Take the next step and sign up for an online Story Time Chess Lesson today!

Chess has a great brand; it’s widely thought of as a smart person’s game. But can playing chess actually have a positive impact on children’s test scores? Yes!We want to provide a catalogue of relevant chess studies that have been done over the years. So, at the end of this blog we’ll list all the studies and other collections of studies we’ve come across for your further research.

Hey, parents!Who here thinks chess is a profoundly complicated, layered, and almost unattainable game? Anyone feeling daunted by the idea of teaching your child how to play? You’re not alone!From the game’s roots in seventh-century India to its recent resurgence in the wake of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, chess has always been considered a cerebral, intellectual pursuit.

Before March 2020, Story Time Chess had never taught a virtual chess lesson before. By the middle of April 2020, Story Time Chess had successfully converted all in-person lessons to fun, engaging online lessons, extending our offerings to children all over the world.Our team has been working around the clock to pivot our technology and train our tutors to be able to deliver the same incredible stories and engaging exercises in online lessons.What has made these lessons so successful?

Explore the Journey and Expertise of Story Time Chess Tutors - Committed to Nurturing Young Minds in the World of Chess. Learn about our dedicated instructors who inspire a love for the game, shaping young players into strategic thinkers. Discover the stories behind the mentors who bring chess to life for kids ages 3 and up.

Our tutors are the merriest! That's why each month, we select a super special tutor to feature and celebrate! Check out our interview with our December Tutor of the Month, Dianna! Where are you from, and where do you live now?I'm originally from just outside of Boston, but I moved to Washington, DC, a few weeks ago after fifteen years in NYC!What's your favorite game besides chess?I love Bananagrams! And any other game dealing with words. I'm also a writer so I love playing with words.

We love our Tutors and want to celebrate the many gifts and talents they bring to their chess lessons! Check out our interview with our November Tutor of the Month, Mafalda! Where are you from and where do you live now?I'm from Portugal and I live in California.What's your favorite game besides chess?I love Codenames.

Our little company's been making big waves. Story Time Chess CEO, Jon Sieber, was recently interviewed on where he let the people know just how fun and beneficial our story-based teaching method is for kids, parents, and families. Click here to watch the whole interview, and head to our website to sign up for Story Time Chess lessons today!

We love our Tutors and want to celebrate the many gifts and talents they bring to their chess lessons! Check out our interview with our October Tutor of the Month, Merlin! Where are you from and where do you live nowI’m from Oregon, but I live in Brooklyn now. What's your favorite game besides chess?I really like Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Catan, and Pandemic. I’ve only played it once, but Wingspan is also pretty excellent.

Grandmaster Maurice Ashley is a living legend. The first Black American Grandmaster, he's been an inspiring ambassador for chess throughout his illustrious career.GM Ashley recently took to the airwaves with a powerful message about the many benefits of chess and how the game can transform kids' lives for the better.Check out this video of his ABC, FOX, and Cheddar News appearances as GM Ashley talks about the benefits of learning chess through our sister company, Story Time Chess!

Our tutors are the tops! Each and everyone is special in their own way and they bring their unique talents to chess education! Check out our interview with our September Tutor of the Month, Ana! Where are you from and where do you live now?I am from Brazil and now I live in Brooklyn, NY!What's your favorite game besides chess?Definitely Mafia/Werewolf. I always play it with my friends and family!

Chess is in the news this week: Recently, the reigning world champion, Magnus Carlsen, accused a competitor, Hans Niemann, of cheating during a tournament earlier this year. A few days ago, Carlsen resigned after just a single move in a highly anticipated rematch with Niemann, leaving the chess world stunned. While Carlsen's allegations haven't been proven, it's possible your child has heard something about this scandal and may have questions.

Did you know we just love our tutors? Each and everyone is special in their own way and they bring their unique talents to chess education! Check out our interview with our August Tutor of the Month Nicholas!1. Where are you from and where do you live now?I grew up in Dunkirk, NY, a small town on Lake Erie. It's pretty close to Canada, so I had the fortune of growing up with Tim Horton's, the superior coffee spot.

We just love our Tutors! They are all unique and exciting teachers that bring something special to each and every lesson! Ready to learn more? Check out this interview with our Tutor of the Month, Mateo!- Where are you from and where do you live now? Howdy! I’m originally from Austin, Texas, and moved to New York after I graduated from Austin College (no relation to the city, weirdly) in 2013. I currently live in Flatbush with my wife and a horde of cats.

Our Tutors are just the most joyful and fantastic teachers you can find! Each of them brings something sweet and special to their lessons with their students. Check out our interview with our July Tutor of the Month, Avery! Don't forget to sign up for lessons with one of our many fantastic tutors! Where are you from and where do you live now?I'm from the Upper East Side of Manhattan but currently live in Astoria, Queens.

Our tutors are the tops! Each and everyone is special in their own way and they bring their unique talents to chess education! Check out our interview with our June Tutor of the Month, EllaRose! 1. Where are you from, and where do you live now?I grew up in Gary, Ind., and I now live in Brooklyn. 2. What's your favorite game besides chess?I love so many games! I really like Balderdash and I also have a soft spot for the game Be A Broadway Star.

Our tutors are magical and marvelous! Each and everyone is special in their own way and they bring their unique talents to chess education! Check out our interview with our May Tutor of the Month, TaraWhere are you from and where do you live now?Hello everyone! I hail from Middlesex, NJ, and currently reside in Astoria, Queens.

Our tutors are the tops! Each and everyone is special in their own way and they bring their unique talents to chess education! Check out our interview with our April Tutor of the Month, Maria!1. Where are you from and where do you live now?I am originally from Romania and I currently live in NYC. Fun fact: I also lived in Germany for a little bit!2. What's your favorite game besides chess?Backgammon! I used to play backgammon with my grandpa when I was a kid, so I grew up with a special kind of love for this game.

Check out our tremendously talented tutor of the month, Marcel!

Check out our interview with this stupendous September Tutor of the Month, Zoe!

Congrats to our amazing August Tutor of the Month Alec!Alec is a true triple threat, teaching Story Time Chess, STARS, and Story Time Music Lessons! Check out our interview with Alec and find out why he's passionate about teaching, which chess story is his all-time fave, and what working with small children means to him!Ready to book lessons with Alec?

This month we are featuring our hardworking Hong Kong Tutors!Check out our interview with Dylan and Dominic as they discuss living overseas, their favorite chess moments, and how it feels to be finally teaching in-person lessons again! Ready to book a Hong Kong Lesson?

Congrats to our June Tutors of the Month! We are so excited to feature these jolly June tutors as they head out to the Hamptons for the summer months! Check out our interview with these fantastic teachers as they discuss everything from what teaching in person again means to them to the activities they are most excited about this summer!

Congrats to our March Tutor of the Month Mari Vial-Golden! Check out our interview with Mari and her inspiration for chess, a favorite moment with a student, and what it means to share the game of chess with small children.

Congrats to Story Time Chess’s May Tutor of the Month Bella Muller!Check out our interview with this marvelous May tutor! Learn about their inspiration for teaching chess, their favorite moments with a student, and what it means to share the game of chess with small children.

Check out our fantastic February Tutor of the Month, John Zoitos! We are so excited to share John's thoughts on what inspires him, his favorite chess story, and what it means to share the love of chess with younger generations Questions below!

Congrats to Story Time Chess's April Tutors of the Month, Charlie O'Rourke and Adam Grodman!Check out our interview with these awesome April tutors! Learn about their inspiration for teaching chess, their favorite moments with a student, and what it means to share the game of chess with small children.

Story Time Chess exists to tell fun and engaging stories that allow children to discover the world of chess all on their own and learn valuable lessons along the way.If you’ve ever eavesdropped on a Story Time Chess story, you know that the lessons we teach extend far beyond the eight-by-eight grid of the chessboard.

Here at Story Time Chess, we've always believed representation matters. Since the start of our company, we have been inviting little girls to take lessons, and we're very proud to state that 50% of our massive teaching staff are women. Chess has long been a male-dominated sport, and as a company, we look to change that outdated notion.

Introducing our December Tutor of the month, Lily!Lily is an actor, singer, and dancer who loves to bring her artistic spirit into chess lessons! We took a moment to chat with Lily about her favorite moments with students, how she's staying sane during this crazy time, and what makes a Story Time Chess Tutor fantastic! Enjoy!

Hello Story Time Chess Parents and Tutors,We in the home office of Story Time Chess hope everyone is well and staying safe. We are thankful for everyone continuing to be a part of our Story Time Chess Family. As you know for over a decade we have been servicing New York City parents and students with the best tutors in your homes.

Your child loves video games. Your household probably has some limitations regarding your child’s video game playing/screen time, because if you didn’t have those limitations, it’s very possible your child would play video games...all day. It might mean the world to your child if you asked them questions about their favorite game.

Hello Chess World, Story Time Chess exists to provide children with “ah-ha” moments. One of our biggest ways to do this is in-home chess lessons. A couple of months ago, we decided to send our clients a survey about their experience with Story Time Chess. We’d like to share some of the info we received from our amazing clients.

Here at Story Time Chess, we love sending our world-class tutors to events! Here’s former tutor of the month, Mateo, at a fun event in Union Square.What kind of events does Story Time Chess love to do? Birthday parties, block parties, company events, or any party where children could use some fun, engaging stories.

With New York City schools closed for the foreseeable future, Story Time Chess is offering a new resource: School In-Home. This new initiative will go above and beyond our regular programming to include enrichment activities such as music, crafting, indoor exercise, and, of course, chess. School In-Home is a fun-filled way to continue your children’s education and provide structure to their day.

Does playing chess make you smarter? If it does...then how? In this video, we explore the fascinating concept of thematic interconnectedness.

Hello Chess World, Story Time Chess hires the best tutors in New York City. This last Friday, one of amazing tutors, Amanda, reached out to our tutor base asking for advice. We were thrilled to see our network of tutors share their teaching strategies and tips. We wanted to share some highlights from the thread as a way to show you how much our tutors care for your children and their development.

Book Your Child’s MUSIC Lesson for this Fall. Story Time Chess is thrilled to announce our sister program: Story Time Music! Story Time Music is the best way to get your child loving music! Amazing tutors, telling fun and engaging stories that get your child loving music.Story Time Music’s goal is to get your child to write their own song.

Hello Chess Parents,From all of us here at Story Time Chess, we hope you’re having an amazing summer, wherever you may be!The Fall of 2019 is shaping us to be our busiest season yet. We strongly recommend you book your Story Time Chess tutor for fall lessons sooner rather than later. Tutor’s schedules are quickly filling up, so book your tutor for the fall now!

Protecting the YarnSo how did I protect the precious yarn holding my fragile castle together? First, a kind teacher took me aside and explained to me the futility of telling children not to do something. There’s something about telling a person—any person, not just children—not to do something. The forbidden ‘thing’ suddenly becomes ... alluring.

Hello and welcome back to the Story Time Chess Blog!We have been thinking and reflecting on all the different gifts chess can give us and our students. We’ve talked about how chess can help you realize your own style and personality, we’ve discussed how chess is a timeless and universal club, we’ve talked about how chess shows children the value of hard work, and last week we explored how chess builds empathy.

Hello, and Welcome Back to the Story Time Chess Blog.Over the next two weeks, we’re going to share one of our favorite anecdotes that we share with all our tutors. The anecdote comes from one of our co-founders, Tyler Schwartz. The Drawbridge story is a powerful lesson he learned in one of his first years of teaching.

Happy beginning to the summer from Story Time Chess! Story Time Chess exists to provide “ah-ha” moments for children. We do this by telling silly stories that allow children to discover why the chess pieces move the way they do. So naturally, we’re used to having a lot of fun with mini chess games and exercises with kids.The world of competitive chess doesn’t come up too much in most Story Time Chess lessons.

We’ve been thinking and reflecting on all the different gifts chess can give us and our students. We’ve talked about how chess can help you realize your own style and personality, we’ve discussed how chess is a timeless and universal club, and last week we talked about how chess shows children the value of hard work. Here’s a short blog from one of our Co-Founders, Tyler Schwartz, on emotional skills we’d like all our students to master: forgiveness and empathy.

“Why do you like chess?” It’s a difficult question for children and adults. We’ve asked this question to hundreds of people and the most common answer is, “I don’t know. It’s fun,” usually said with a shrug of the shoulders.Children often mention liking our cast of characters, “I love moving Queen Allegra, she’s so fast!” or, “I love moving the knights, gallop, gallop, step to the side.”

Hello, and welcome to the Story Time Chess Blog. We’ve been thinking about different ways that chess can enrich the lives of those who play it. In a previous post, we talked about how chess can help you discover your own style and personality. In another post, we talked about how chess is a universal language, connecting you to friends in any major city!In today’s blog, our co-founder Tyler Schwartz discusses the correlation between playing chess and building an appreciation for hard work. Here’s our next entry.

Story Time Chess exists because of our fun engaging stories that allow children to discover the magical world of chess on their own. A couple of years ago, we started developing a music curriculum that uses all the same elements that make Story Time Chess great: fun stories, silly characters, and carefully crafted plots, all told by amazing storytellers.

We have a couple new offerings for the summer at our Upper East Side Chess Club that I'm excited to share with you.Morning Chess Camps- Our morning chess camps are the best way to get your child ahead while having fun, over the summer. Each morning we tell fun stories about chess, have great custom chess lessons for your child, and host fun activities that will challenge your child’s mind in new ways!Chess Camp is every morning from 9:30am-12:00pm.

A blog from one of our co-founders, Tyler SchwartzThe object of chess is simple enough: capture the king. The only limitations are the movement of all the pieces and the 8x8 board they begin on. But, there are infinite strategies on how to win. What kind of style do you want to use to win? Do you want to play for an aggressive attack, or maybe patiently wait for your opponent to make a weakness?

Looking for a fun activity for your child this summer? Look no further! Story Time Chess STARS is geared towards students who are 8+ and also any younger students who are curious about competing scholastically. Starting the week of June 17th we will have weekly camps. Additionally, we will have weekly classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons/evenings. We are also excited to meet your needs.

Story Time Chess is passionate about getting children loving chess because of the immense benefits the game can give them. These benefits include better-standardized test scores, increased memory, and improved emotional intelligence. Here is a short essay from Tyler Schwartz, one of Story Time Chess's co-founders, about another beautiful benefit of the game.Before my wife and I had our first child, we had a “babymoon” in Buenos Aires.

Kids are just fascinating. Not one is alike. Throughout my teaching career, I’ve come to know one thing – I’m always needing to adjust my teaching methods. One thing I was noticing as I began teaching with Story Time Chess was how differently a kid who is three-years-old learns from a kid who is four. One year can make a big difference. I’ve also noticed that attention spans have quite a short shelf life these days.

Welcome back everybody. This is the last week of Story Time Chess’s first blog series, “Talking Better with Our Kids.” Thanks for everyone’s likes, comments and shares on this blog. We would love to do more of these blog series so if you got something from these blogs it would mean a lot of us if you shared with a friend!

“If my answers frighten you, then you should cease asking scary questions.”—Jules Winnfield, Pulp FictionPicking up my two-year-old daughter from daycare is war. My family lives in Brooklyn, where everything is crowded: our apartments, the subway (both the popular sandwich franchise and the mode of public transportation), and our daughter’s daycare. Life in New York is done in close proximity to your fellow man or woman.

What is the greatest tool Story Time Chess uses to teach chess? The obvious answer is a chess board and pieces, but I’d like to dive deeper and say that it is our use of Thinking Cups. In every lesson we teach, from the first to the last, our tutors use Thinking Cups. To make a Thinking Cup, children clap their hands together, then open them up (keeping the bottoms of the palms together) to make a cup, and then put their chin in the cup.

We pride ourselves in our amazing tutors. Every certified Story Time Chess storyteller isone of the smartest, kindest, most thoughtful tutors you will ever meet. These individuals thriveoff bringing fun and exciting lessons into homes and schools across the country, but you don'thave to take our words for it.We constantly receive positive testimonials from our clients sharing the things they loveabout their Story Time Chess lessons.

Welcome back to Talking Better with Our Kids, a blog series by Story Time Chess. We are focusing on improving the way we interact with our children and students. Last week, we realized that we’re asking our kids a lot of unnecessary questions: Do you want me to help you put your socks on? Do you think we should change your diaper? Do you want to finish your vegetables?

Talking Better with Our Kids – Blog #1A Chess at 3 Blog SeriesChess At Three is passionate about getting all kids playing and loving chess. Chess At Three’s curriculum reaches over 10,000 children a week via our digital portal, and our tutors teach over 400 chess lessons a week in New York City. Needless to say, we are frequently interacting with kids, and we are constantly thinking about better ways to engage with them.

CHESS IS A CENTURIES OLD GAME AND, LIKE MANY THINGS THAT WITHSTAND THE TEST OF TIME, IT IS A GAME OF VIRTUE AND VALUE. Chess teaches children invaluable lessons that will positively impact them both in school and at home. The game of chess teaches imperative life skills, such as taking turns, thinking beyond the present moment and demonstrating sportsmanship.

Story Time Chess has been keeping some pretty exciting news under wraps. Over the past several months we have been working hard to develop a revolutionary, new chess game that will enable parents toteach their children how to play chess (or practice what they’ve been learning through their chess lessons) in the comfort of their own home.

Stopping in to catch the match, County Commissioner Bob Thomas was charmed by 5-year-olds Lily Fisher and Cameron Bogus. A neighbor of owner Anoula McCarren, Thomas is a proponent of early childhood education.

As educators, we receive lots of inquiries from parents and other teachers asking how their child or classroom is stacking up compared to their peers. When working with very young children, this is a hard question to answer. There are so many factors that make up how a child is doing and these can change on a per-day, even per-hour, basis. Is the child sick? Do they get along well with the tutor?

"Sarah, don’t knock that over!""Jack, we are being too silly for this!""Keep your hands to yourself Kevin!"If you have worked or currently work with kids these are phrases you have likely heard every single day. Young children are big wigglers. They like to touch, lift, press, push and explore almost everything they encounter.

Preschoolers in Knoxville are now mastering the art of chess.The Goddard School in Knoxville held a chess tournament on Friday morning, part of the school's curriculum called "Story Time Chess." Students start learning the game at 2 and a half through a fairy tale.

This is Drake! Drake started playing chess when he was 3 and learned the rules of chess by hearing a story about a silly king named King Chompers who ate too much food! Drake developed a love for the game and soon would often be seen playing chess with friends in his classroom.Drake worked with one of Story Time Chess's best tutors—Luka—who, in addition to telling silly stories, worked with Drake on puzzles and chess theory.

The game of chess, long considered a game for elite intellectuals or older individuals, has recently seen a resurgence among younger students. Chess lessons and clubs are now ubiquitous throughout many NYC elementary and secondary schools. Story Time Chess, has revolutionized the game of chess, now teaching chess to children as young as THREE years old.

Summer is a great time for activities and creativity, but for some kids, having no structure to the days means boredom and getting into trouble. It’s important to find out what your child is interested in and help them create a schedule of sorts for the summer months.While you don’t have to fill every day with an activity, there are several simple ways to give your child a fun summer while keeping them safe and happy.

Read WCBS's profile below.Tyler Schwartz was more than 3 years old when it started for him.“I started playing in college because I was going to study with someone from the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and someone told me that all the guys in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra love chess,” he told WCBS 880’s Alex Silverman one afternoon recently as they sat in toddler-sized chairs on opposite sides of an adult chess board.

If you could do something for your kids that would increase their IQ, enhance their memory, verbal skills and critical thinking while fostering emotional intelligence and confidence, it would be a no-brainer. Well, there is, and it’s hiding in the most unlikely of places. It’s called chess. Yes, that chess. And no, your kids are not too young to learn.

To understand the benefits of playing chess, think of chess as a mental gym. When you play chess, you engage your brain in critical and demanding ways. Your brain is constantly developing to adapt to this more mentally intense environment. Thus when you repeatedly play chess you get, well... smarter. Memory, critical thinking, calculation, mental dexterity and executive function in early childhood are just some of the wonderful benefits of playing the game of kings.As long as chess has been chess, chess has been mainly played by men.

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea. That is so so so true. But what does it have to do with education? Frankly, it’s less about education and more about motivation. This is the key takeaway from the quote: people are exponentially more productive, creative, and effective when they are doing something that they long to do.If you can inspire your child to want to learn the thing you need them to learn, they will be able to learn that thing much faster.